Advice To The Young

Sometimes I wonder how I got here. That is, when I was young, I never thought I would get this old. My father, as I have said before, thought he would die around 65 years of age... as his father and grandfather had. I don't think he knew his grandfather (who likely stayed behind in Belfast when Dad's father emigrated to the U.S.). But my father made it to 84 and I turn 70 next year.. so I have lived longer than I ever thought I would.

When you are young, you don't think about the future much, maybe a few years ahead but not much more. Today, at Faye's urging, I contacted the people who hold my 401K because I will have to start taking a distribution from it. We (meaning Faye) decided I should take it all out and roll it over to a traditional IRA, and because I have some post-tax money in the 401K, into a Roth IRA. Most will go into the traditional IRA, of course.

Looking at it, it doesn't seem like a lot of money. One of my big regrets is not saving more for my retirement but, as I said, when you're young, the future is far away and not very real.

So my advice to those of you in your 20's or 30's is to participate in your company's 401K plan (the companies often match, either whole or in part, whatever you contribute) and also put away (someplace) an amount equal to what you pay into at least Social Security. It's not much but it will add up over the years. Especially if you let it build up and then invest it when it reaches a pre-determined amount. That way you will build a nestegg for when you find you made it to some ripe old age you never thought you'd see.